Not Failing Our Students
Academy for G.O.D. Principal Grant Dailey recently updated parents on the progress reports released to their students. We thought his update would be celebrated by an audience larger than just the students’ parents, so we posted here for you to read as well!
Recently we distributed quarter 3 progress reports. While elementary students received updates on the progress they have made in achieving benchmarks, Jr High and High School students were mailed a printout of their current grade in each course. I am pleased to report that our Jr High and High School students had a great third quarter! Of the 300+ grades given at the third quarter, only 5 were failing between both high school and jr. high. This is a great improvement from the end of Q1 in the Fall, where we had 13 failing grades from 7-12th grade.
I share this with you not to boast our grade statistics. That is not who we are as a school. Much of our effort is directed at measuring success by metrics other than GPA. Rather, I want to highlight our approach to grading students and working with those individuals that do struggle. We do not give grades to elementary students until the last quarter of 6th grade. We do this because we want to introduce grades at a point in their development where students can differentiate the evaluation of their effort (a grade) from their value as a person. Once a student enters Jr High, however, the reality is their work is graded. School is not a YMCA soccer league; we don’t hand out arbitrary participation trophies to each student for just showing up. Sometimes students fail to do homework or perform poorly on a test. But our conviction is that we have the responsibility to do everything within our power to help students improve.
As a lead teacher to the Jr High students, Mr. Aaseby invests time and care into the students not only academically, but also socially and emotionally.
Let’s face it: failing is the worst. No kid wants to fail, and a sustained feeling of failure, coupled with not getting the help they need, often ends in students just giving up. Take for example national dropout statistics (1). Decades ago, dropout rates were largely related to factors other than school: “chose to work, got married, enlisted in the army.” By the 2000s, however, the rationale for students dropping out shifted. “Getting failing grades, could not keep up with school work, thought could not complete requirements, couldn’t get along with teachers.” The increased expectations on students and the heightened emphasis on college readiness (both measured almost exclusively in alphanumeric terms) have led to a school environment where students that fail also fail to get support, with many quitting in the end.
We understand the obligation we have to help students that fall behind. When a student is failing or on the verge of failing, we work with them to help move them in the right direction. Study halls, plans for make-up work, opportunities to retest and retake. Most important, we meet with our students to help them see that they aren’t bad or a failure themselves. They are learning to manage their time and make their effort match the responsibilities at school. This is, for us, more important than getting in the work that was missed: we want our students to develop the confidence that comes from recognizing they are children of God, created in his image to do good works (Eph. 2:10).
All this to say, I’m very proud of our Jr High and High School students this semester. These reports are a piece of the evidence that they are continually growing and improving, not just academically, but in understanding what they are capable of as children of God.
(1) Jonathan Jacob Doll, Zohreh Eslami, Lynne Walters, “Understanding Why Students Dropout of High School, According to their Own Reports,” Sage Journals 3, no. 4 (January 1, 2013), https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244013503834
Keeping Our Way Pure
Written by Craig Duffy
The following is a glimpse into a conversation that I appreciated and was grateful to have with my students this week. I'm so proud of what the Lord is doing in their hearts!
"What is a theologian, students?"
Blank stares, shoulder shrugs.
"Okay, look it up."
Student raises hand, “someone who specializes in theology."
"Good. What is theology?"
Silence.
“Okay, look it up.”
Student raises hand, “the study of God and his relation to the world.”
"Fantastic. Do you think you all specialize in theology?"
"No?"
"Look up the definition of specialize."
“To focus on or give increased effort in a particular field of study.”
"Good. Do you think you all focus on and give increased effort to the study of God’s word and his relationship with the world?"
Student raises hand, “yes we do!”
"Okay, prove it. How much time do you actually spend in God’s word on a weekly basis through classes, homework, chapel, beginnings, wrap-up, church during the week, and youth groups you might have. Calculate it up, please."
(Class average comes out to 9hrs a week).
"Do you think this amount of time in the word is normal or abnormal?"
At the Academy, the Bible is the foundational text for the entire curriculum. Students are learning to apply scripture to every part of their lives!
Students shrug shoulders.
"According to a Barna study, 7 out of 10 Christian teens own a bible. Of those 7 teens, 5 are in it for about 15 minutes, about 4 times a year. 2 of them are in the word 1 time a week for 15 minutes. (1) Meaning that your above average Christian teen is floating around 3% the textual exposure rate that your average student is in our classroom."
They gasp and cover their mouths.
"Again, let me ask you, do you think you specialize in theology?"
Yes, they shake their heads.
"Do you think, then, that you are young theologians?"
They shake their heads again, up and down.
"Do you think you're normal?"
This time they move their heads back and forth.
"Good", I say, "lets move on."
“How Can A Young Man Keep His Way Pure? By Keeping It According To Your Word.”
- Psalm 119:9
(1) Barna: Only 3 Percent of Teens Read Bible Daily.” OneNewsNow.com, onenewsnow.com/missions/2016/08/28/barna-only-3-percent-of-teens-read-bible-daily?&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news_important_info_for_parents&utm_term=2019-03-24.
Love Your Neighbor, Learn Their Language
Team member Anna Reyes (left) volunteers as a high school Spanish teacher at the Academy for G.O.D. She particularly enjoys helping students come into an awareness of not just the mechanics of Spanish grammar, but the social realities faced by many speakers in the US and how followers of Christ can responsibly respond.
Written by Anna Reyes
This school year, four of our Latin America Team members serve as volunteers teaching Spanish at both the Academy and Institute for G.O.D. Learning Spanish is an important requirement for all members of our team for our work in our international region. However, sharing our skills with students here in the US is important for us as well. It is our privilege to help bridge the communication divide between neighbors here in the states, regardless of whether our students’ paths ultimately take them outside of the US or not.
I volunteer to teach a Spanish grammar course at the Academy for G.O.D. My students are high schoolers on various trajectories towards their life and career goals. One of my favorite questions to ask my students at the beginning of the semester is, “Why are you in this class?” At first, they are confused. The question may seem rhetorical, but it really isn’t.
Team member Lavinia Fernandez (right) volunteers as a Spanish teacher at both the Academy and Institute for G.O.D. She approaches the task by first acknowledging that language is necessarily tied to human speakers and therefore cannot be responsibly approached without considering the perspective of the other.
“What do you mean?” they ask. I respond by pressing the pause button on the busy lives we lead. “Why are you in this room, on this day, beginning a course in Spanish?”
A surprising theme that has emerged from their answers is the desire to understand Spanish speakers, not on the scientific level of translation, but on the emotional level of human connection. When they take a moment to pause and assess their personal motivation, they find more than simply being able to translate their thoughts. They would like to be able to take the perspective of another, a perspective that eludes them due to the barrier of language.
“I want to learn Spanish so that I can talk and connect with people who speak Spanish. Learning this language can help me develop new relationships with people I couldn't talk to before. The skill of learning different languages can help you in a lot of ways, but I think this one is one of the most important ones to consider,” a student said.
Pledges and candidates of the Latin America team benefit from the instruction offered by team member Ben Reese (right) at the Institute for G.O.D. All team participants are encouraged to continue pursuit of fluency and take annual exams to ensure that progress is being made.
Another student reflected after her semester, “Something that surprised me was that we could apply what we learn in Spanish to the world changing around us.”
It is bridging this connection that excites me as an educator. 1 John teaches that “he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God who he has not seen.” Doing the arduous work of learning a language in order to understand another in order to take their perspective is a valuable step towards just such a love of neighbor. Though our classes and the material to cover is vast, I make it a priority to include assignments that can broaden the perspective of my students. We’ve had class discussions or presentations on current events about immigration issues in our nation. We’ve discussed the growing desire among Spanish-speaking Americans for Spanish language children’s books that don’t simply translate stories from English, but make available the stories that native speakers enjoyed as children. I have also offered extra credit to students who volunteer with the ELL program of GOD, not to teach English, but to help the staff and students in service such as cleaning or hospitality while simply observing and reflecting on the experience. Though it is God who gives us sight to see our fellow brothers and sisters with the love that He has for them, it is moments such as these that bring an opportunity for God to move.
Students in the high school Spanish class taught by team member Ninfa Parker (right) approach language from a conversational strategy. Growing up in a truly bilingual environment, Ninfa’s expertise helps students to intuit the artistic side of language learning, developing a feel for the correct use of grammar.
The weekly effort of teaching Spanish is not unlike many educators throughout the US. What’s different is that language acquisition isn’t our only goal. Instead, we aim to increase fluency in our students as well as cultural and political sensitivity. We want them to not only hear, but also understand the perspective of our Spanish speaking neighbors in Nashville and Latin America alike in order to build unity within the Kingdom of God.
Music As A Spiritual Expression
Written By Grant Dailey
Jr High teacher, Mr. Aaseby teaches a course titled “Worship Band” at the Academy where the students learn the necessary skills to not only play an instrument but also facilitate a worship experience for others.
Spend time in the hallways of our school and you will observe (rather, hear) a recurring scene. During scheduled “brain breaks” between classes, students often pause their studies and pickup - not a game on an iPad - but instruments! The addition of our new building has afforded us convenient, close space for students to play one of the readily available instruments. I joked with teachers this week that it feels like a “Guitar Center” in our halls, as students thrash beats, pluck chords, thump bass lines, and somehow manage to pull of vocal harmonies on top of it all!
Each year the Academy hosts a student talent show where the acts include a variety of skills, but at the top of the list each year is a number of musical performances from the students!
What comes off as cacophony is, for me, something beautiful. Music is a key component to our creative arts education at the Academy. There are abundant studies (I’ve included a very introductory article below) that show the benefit of learning music to improving linguistic, cognitive, spatial, and mathematical development. Learning an instrument is also a social tool, as students learn to apply their own ability in the context of a larger, group effort. And, of utmost importance, playing music together can be a powerful spiritual expression, an outlet to creatively express kids’ devotion to God.
The next time your child comes home stomping their foot or humming a tune, know that something special is happening. They are developing a skill that will follow them beyond post-secondary education and into adulthood, capable of creating, problem-solving, interacting, and expressing - all thanks to learning to make music.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/the-benefits-of-music-education/
The Freedom to Grow
Written by John Nyago
I was born and raised in Uganda. To this day, my family has a 20 acre farm there on which we grow food and rear animals. The majority of the food that we ate in my house growing up came from this farm. While my family was poor, we never went without food. God was always faithful to provide for us as we worked the ground. He saved us from experiencing famine and its adverse effects.
Growing our own food saved us from having to spend the limited money we had on food. Instead, we could use that money to pay for things such as clothing, tuition, medical services, etc. I don’t know how my parents would have afforded to pay for our tuition if they also had to daily buy food for our family. Though I studied agriculture in school, the majority of my hands-on experience came from farming with my family. So, farming and food production has always been part of my life.
Our society has shifted focus away from educating the next generation in sustainable food production. Now less than 1% of the current population are farmers. In turn, organically grown produce full of nutrients remains costly and often geographically inaccessible to the poor while packaged foods void of nutrients are cheap and readily available. With rising statistics on childhood obesity, we believe children deserve to learn about food they eat, the plants in their houses and backyards, and the relationship between the natural vegetation and human activity.
I am privileged to respond to these issues by teaching gardening and food production at the Academy for G.O.D. We engage students on topics such as nutrition, soil science and maintenance, how to preserve our environment and how to grow healthy and delicious food among others.Growing up in Uganda, I studied agriculture in two different schools for four years, but it was all done in the classroom without ever visiting a garden. I now see the great benefit of the garden serving as an outdoor classroom that brings simple and complex lessons to life. While the classes I took were purely theoretical, I now get to teach a hands-on, practical education in the garden. Students have the opportunity to interact with nature, continue to develop their tactile senses and awareness of the numerous natural processes that take place in the garden.
As we teach our Academy students about gardening and food production, we want them to know how God generously intended for all human beings to have access to food (Gen. 1:29-31), and how they can exercise their freedom and choice to eat what they need by participating in growing their own food. Students experience this reality everyday as they get to eat some of the food they’ve helped to grow and harvest from the garden at breakfast and lunch through our Farm to Table program. I am thankful to teach this course and to do my part in ensuring kids are given the opportunity to participate in the production of their food!